Customer Reviews

Masquerade

5 star:		(55)
4 star:		(31)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I picked up Masquerade after finishing Blue Bloods, Melissa de la Cruz's first novel about the vampires aka Blue Bloods. This second effort follows-up where the first ended...the young Blue Blood, Schuyler Van Alen goes to Venice in search of her grandfather, Lawrence Van Alen whom she believes can help solve the mystery of the Silver Bloods, a deviant branch of vampires intent on destroying young Blue Bloods. Back in Manhattan, preparations are in full-swing for the Four Hundred Ball, the elite event for vampires only. We are re-introduced to familiar characters such as Jack and Mimi Force, the immortal twins, Bliss Llewellyn, Oliver Perry [Schuyler's conduit], and some new ones like Kingsley Martin, the new boy. I thought this was a better plotted novel than the first...there's more intrigue, and also a lot more elaboration on what makes the Blue Bloods tick, i.e. their abilities, the training that goes into the young Blue Bloods, their weaknesses and of course the partial unravelling of the mystery of the Sivler Bloods. Schuyler Van Alen's character is more well-defined here, and her relationships with Oliver and Jack are explored in more depth in this novel though with no real resolution. There is a lot more that needs to be explained, and I guess that's to be found in the third novel, Revelations, which I am eagerly anticipating.

Blue Bloods are the highest level of elite modern New York society. The teen Blue Bloods attend Duchesne School, enjoy the most fabulous parties and share a dark secret. Blue Bloods are vampires; they literally bleed blue blood and sprout fangs when hungry. But that doesn't stop them from partying in this second installment of Melissa de la Cruz's fantasy/horror series, which has even more mysterious secrets and action than its predecessor.

Schuyler Van Alen and her destined human assistant, Oliver, begin the book by traveling to Italy in search of Schuyler's outcast grandfather. Her grandmother just passed away in this cycle and advised her to get help from her grandfather. She finds him, but he doesn't seem to be interested in helping her fight the Silver Bloods, who have tried to get rid of the Blue Bloods throughout history. No one believes her insistence that they're back, but she knows that some teens and her grandmother had help dying from the Silvers.

Mimi and Jack Force are leading the Blue Bloods in getting ready for the traditional Four Hundred Ball. They will be presented officially at the ball, with their vampire names and identities. Mimi begins to plan an exclusive afterparty for the teen vampires, but she is most looking forward to letting everyone know that she and Jack are destined to be together from history. He may be attracted to Schuyler, the half-Blue Blood, but in each life he and Mimi have ended up together.

Bliss, the Blue Blood who moved from Houston with her Senator father, finds herself in strange locations. One time she wakes up at the bottom of a lake, and an unknown vampire helps her. She blacks out more and more frequently and doesn't know why. She still feels that Dylan, her boyfriend who disappeared in the first book, is alive. He must be the one helping her, she thinks. On a modeling gig with Schuyler, she feeds for the first time with a crew member, only to regret it as they then share a bond.

At the afterparty, Schuyler is kissed by a masked vampire, but she thinks it's Jack. He has ignored her ever since she announced her feelings that the Silver Bloods have returned. She grows weaker and weaker as vampire and human mixed bloods fight in her for dominance. It becomes clear that she must feed for the first time on a human. She wants it to be Oliver but wonders if that will change their friendship forever.

A very attractive new student, Kingsley, enters Duchesne and gets to know all the important players right away. He encourages Mimi in her jealousy of Schuyler, and when some dark magic affects several of the teens, Mimi lands in serious trouble. Could she really be a Silver Blood?

Loyalties are tested, and Schuyler struggles the most with this question. Get ready for more surprises and dark secrets in this compelling series. Fans of both vampire stories and Gossip Girl-type New York chick lit will love these books.

--- Reviewed by Amy Alessio

When we last left off with Schuyler Van Alen, she was just getting used to the news of being a Blue Blood, or what we normally label them as, a vampire. She gets invited into the New York Blood Bank Committee and, before she knows it, Schuyler is swept away into the unknown world of the Blue Bloods. Unfortunately, it seems like Schuyler discovered her true self at the wrong time, since three Blue Blood teens have been murdered.

Still not satisfied, Schuyler wants more information for why young vampires are dying and the only way she can find out more is by visiting her grandfather, who lives in Italy. And so in MASQUERADE, Schuyler is off with her best friend to get to the truth. But while Schuyler is trying to learn more about her new world, the Four Hundred Ball is being held in New York, and it seems like the party, before and after, are more than what she bargained for.

Of course, with all of this mystery and drama, Schuyler's life also has to be filled with a little boy drama. It's not enough having mixed-up, obnoxious feelings toward Jack, but with the new guy in town, things just happen to get messy.

Melissa de la Cruz continues her amazing series, Blue Bloods, with full force in MASQUERADE. Some problems are solved while even more are unleashed, and you just can't help but fall deep into this wonderful series. The relationships that Schuyler has with everyone around her are just amazingly sweet. The good part about this series is that there is definitely more to come. The drawback just happens to be waiting for the next one.

Reviewed by: Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen

This is actually a 2 1/2 star review, but since you can't do half stars...

I consumed this sequel in just under four hours. Which would be impressive, although it should be noted that these books are not densely written and about a third of it consists of descriptions of what people are wearing and the names of fashion designers, which I am quite glad to skip.

That said, if you liked the first one, you're almost guaranteed to enjoy the second because the author doesn't really mess with the formula that worked so well before. Smart woman.

The intrigues thicken. Bliss' mystery deepens, including the identity of her mother and the whys and wherefores of all of her nightmares and blackouts. (It's amazing the girl stays upright with so little sleep.) Jack's infatuation with Schuyler is given more significance, and I liked the reasoning behind it. It makes it more than just a shallow, dude-she's-freakin-hot thing. The connection between Mimi and Jack through all of their life cycles is explored well, but apart from that their characters are much the same. I was hoping for more development from Mimi. Best friend Oliver takes a familiar and predictable turn in regards to his feelings for our heroine, Schuyler, who grows a bit more spine and remains likable as she travels in search of her exiled grandfather.

Once again, the book is strongest where its exploring the idea of these reincarnating fallen angels, how they interact in familiar and yet not-the-same patterns over and over again. I honestly wished the adults could put in more page-time. Charles Force remains the most complicated character in the book - hard to like but yet not bad (at least...not yet). The addition of Schuyler's grandfather gives the character landscape a boost. There's a moment where he's talking with 16-year-old Jack in a tone that suggests they've had this conversation before - through the centuries. It felt like a throwaway scene, but I wanted there to be more like them.

The book didn't start off on the right foot for me because it violated a pet peeve of mine. In the first few pages, it almost blatantly infodumped everything that had happened in the previous book. If people aren't clever enough to start with the first book in the series, then let them swim without a lifejacket and try to pick up what's going on.

There are other problems. The head-hopping by the author means sometimes she has to double-back and have characters remembering scenes that happened instead of us getting to see them in real-time. It's a method that tends to leave gaps, although she does pretty well at keeping her threads in hand. There a couple of divergences so Bliss and Schuyler can pursue modeling careers. (Why?) The addition of a new boy at school feels contrived - a means to a certain end - and a couple of other elements to the end (I don't want to spoil anything) feel a bit deus ex machina.

All the negatives aside, I'm still interested in how the intrigues will be resolved. Whenever the next book comes out, I'll definitely pick it up at the library as soon as I am able.

I finished this book within 6 hours of picking it up. I couldn't put it down! De La Cruz keeps the pace going quickly as the novel picks up several months after Blue Bloods ended. Schulyer is still on the hunt to find the truth about the Silver Bloods and fight her feelings for Jack Force, while encountering a slew of new problems that she has to face. De La Cruz packs so much action in this novel, you will wish it was twice as long. She leaves the reader waiting impatiently for the third book in the series with unanswered questions and an unbelievable final scene. I absolutely loved this novel.

I, for one, was thrilled when I heard there would be a sequel to "Blue Bloods." As soon as a friend of mine got it, she handed it off to me when she was done. Like her, it took me 6 hours to read cover to cover. Fast paced and just as good as the first, Melissa de la Cruz reveals enough answers to satisfy the reader's appetite (I can't count how many "Oh my God!" moments I had), but leaves just as many cliff hangers to leave you hungry for another installment. I cannot wait to read the continuation to this excellent story.

Everyone in the Blue Blood community is shaken by the attack on Cordelia Van Allen, and the deaths of young Blue Bloods across the city. Schuyler knows that the Silver Bloods are behind it, but no one will tell her anything about them--the adults either refuse to acknowledge their existence, or are too frightened to. So she sets off to Venice with Oliver to search for her grandfather, Lawrence Van Allen, who supposedly has the answers she seeks. Meanwhile, back in New York, Bliss is devastated at Dylan's death and refuses to accept the fact that he is dead, and Mimi is slowly realizing that Jack might not be hers for very long unless she does something. And that something may involve conspiring with the one person who is determined to obliterate them all.

Breathtaking action and suspense dominates Melissa de la Cruz's second book in the Blue Bloods trilogy. The plot steers away from the rich and luxurious lifestyle slightly, and focuses a bit more on the silent war between the Blue Bloods and Silver Bloods, and dark secrets that have been kept among the Blue Bloods, making for a more convoluted and fascinating plot. More information is given on Blue Blood powers and weaknesses, and it seems that just as de la Cruz cleverly ties up one mystery, she open up two more. Schuyler and Bliss's characters are more fully realized in masquerade, especially as they begin to mature as Blue Bloods. Schuyler is also forced to deal with her feelings for both Oliver and Jack, leaving readers even more torn than ever. All of these many elements combined will only further draw readers into the glitzy and edgy Blue Blood world, and invoke some strong feelings of anticipation for the solutions to many puzzling mysteries. This highly creative and absorbing book will thrill readers.

Masquerade is a worthy follow up to Blue Bloods that surpasses its predecessor in terms of writing quality and story depth. Just like in Blue Bloods, there were rushed scenes - I do wish the author would spend a little more time building up to and exploring the romance scenes (since much of the emotional depth of the characters plays out in these moments) - but the fast pace keeps the pages turning.

In Masquerade we learn much more of the vampire mythology, which was quite interesting and better developed than in the first book. I had a much easier time slipping into the vampire world this time around - probably because the high society end of it wasn't nearly as emphasized. Just enough to make it fun.

The characters and their relationships to each other deepen, making the story even more complex and setting the stage for more drama and intrigue in the next book. Like the first, this one ends in a cliff-hanger so we'll have to wait to see how the quadrangle between Schuyler, Jack, Oliver and Mimi plays out. It's still a little strange to me that the vampires in these stories have romantic/sexual relationships with siblings - it's one of those things you have to suspend disbelief with and pretend you really are dealing with another species, otherwise it's just disturbing.

Beyond that, the introduction of Schuyler's grandfather is a great addition to the cast of characters. And some interesting details are revealed regarding Bliss's history that adds to the mystery. Dylan returns in the 11th hour so we see little of him, but it will be interesting to discover what happened to him during his absence.

With a unique plot and engaging storyline, I couldn't put Masquerade down. I read it in a matter of hours and look forward to the next in the series (I wish it was already out). This was a solid follow up that was thoroughly enjoyable and well worth the read.

The sequel to Blue Bloods, Masquerade is the continuing tale of Schuyler Van Alen, a Blue Blood without a past. Blue Bloods are fallen angels transformed into vampires who are reincarnated with memories of their past lives, attempting to redeem themselves during their time on earth. In this installment, Schuyler and her best friend Oliver go to Venice to ask her grandfather for help in dealing with the Silverbloods, creatures preying on the Blue Bloods. In the meantime, a mysterious new boy with a knack for creating trouble has arrived at school. Masquerade also continues the development of the love triangle between Schuyler, Jack and Mimi Force. The Blue Bloods series is better written than the Vampire Beach books, with a stronger plot and better character development. However, Masquerade suffers from a flaw common to series books: a maddening, cliffhanger ending that prevents the book from standing on its own, and will leave readers frustrated until a sequel comes out. Recommended for public library young adult collections.

The book continues right where Blue Bloods left off.
Schuyler Van Alen wants an explanation for the mysterious deaths of young Blue Bloods. Her search brings her to Venice, Italy, in the hopes of finding the one person who can help. Her grandfather, Lawrence Van Allen. Meanwhie in New York, preparations are feverishly underway for the famous Four Hundred Ball, an exclusive gala hosted by the city's wealthy, powerful, and Vampires only! But it's at the after-party masquerade that the true danger lurks. Hidden behind the masks is a revelation that will change the course of a young vampire's destiny.

The second book will have you turning the pages without wanting to get any rest. It is as good as the first, if not better.
Some secrets will be revealed, not all, get ready for more questions, and an ending that will have you anxious foo the next volume.

Get ready for the third installment, Blue Bloods III: REVELATIONS out in spring, 2008.

Melissa De la Cruz's version of vampires is absolutly brilliant. her writing is astonidhing.